Statement by the Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on the issue of banning opposition parties in Georgia

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Gudrun Kugler has issued a statement expressing concern over the process initiated in the Constitutional Court of Georgia. The aforementioned process aims to ban five opposition parties, which is an initiative of deputies from the ruling party "Georgian Dream". 1TV+4

According to Kugler, Georgia should not become a country where the political opposition is treated as an enemy. She called on the authorities to stop politically motivated persecution and return to the path of democracy. Furthermore, Kugler noted that these procedures are alarming against the backdrop of questions regarding the independence of the judiciary, including taking into account the concerns expressed by the European Parliament. 1TV+3

There are differing assessments regarding this statement within the Georgian justice system. Specifically, imedinews and imedinews-fb call Kugler's call a "crude interference". At the same time, Kugler emphasized that Georgia, as an OSCE participating state and a member of the Council of Europe, must fulfill its obligations and respect political pluralism. Imedi+3